As much as we might hate to acknowledge it, our lives have changed in the "digital age." Here are some recent and not recent examples of how much our lives have changed.
1. The consumption of books have changed in the digital age. First, the Kindle by Amazon was released in 2007 (right). Honestly, I didn't think it would take off like it did because of the price and the limited books and services available to address this change. Like other technology, developers and consumers adjusted to new demand. Now Kindle sales are out passing hardcover books. See article: How Amazon Kindle Sales Surpassed Hardcover Books. Barns & Noble recently (in late 2009) released their own version called the "Nook" in showing how the digital book market has expanded rapidly in under three years. And, the iPad also has an e-book reader capability to meet these needs of the digital reader. On a New York City subway, you will still see the majority of strap hangers reading paper backs but more and more you will see passengers with digital readers. At least once per train ride I see one and look at them strangely because the devices are still not very mainstream. I also look at them with envy as my backpack filled with books begins to feel far heavier because they can carry multiple books in the small devices.
2. The 2010 World Cup: Although not live now, during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa stations like ESPN were broadcasting like crazy, especially on the web. If you were at work during the airing of a match between your favorite teams, you could simply sign on to ESPN.com and watch "live streaming sports" and get instant playback of a goal, for example, on the same screen. Amazing! In the past, you weren't able to even watch live TV on the web much less get instant playback as many times as your heart desired. You can watch almost any live match from your computer.
3. Education has changed since the digital age, even if it is changing more slowly than other sectors in society. North Carolina seems to be pioneering the use of digital capabilities, in the form of cellphones, to educate their students. This time it's not sex education but math education. According to today's eSchoolNews newsletter, "Two years ago, public high schools in North Carolina began an education technology pilot to determine whether smart phones, in conjunction with curriculum resources, could be leveraged to increase student math comprehension. Now, teachers are saying that not only have math test scores increased, but student achievement has increased in other subject areas as well." Who could have imagined that increased cellphone usage (constructive usage) would increase math scores! This successful use of cellphones could be transfered to other subject areas and perhaps will impact and change traditional point of views on the use of phones and other technology in and outside the classroom.
Further details can be found in the article: "Program uses smart phones to increase math scores."
but wait . . . i thought smart phones were going to destroy civilization. great article -- thanks for the link.
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